Global forum on food security and nutrition

93.Sonia Boland, Australian Government Department of Health, Australia

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on how we might best maximise the potential of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Please find comments from Australia below. 
United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition: Online consultation on the work programme for the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition

Comments from Australia

Australia supports the need to focus global attention on the double burden of nutrition and the United Nations General Assembly’s proclamation of 2016–2025 as the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. Critically, the Decade of Action on Nutrition presents the opportunity to accelerate actions to implement the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action. Australia appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on how we might best maximise the potential of the Decade of Action.

Foremost, the Decade of Action on Nutrition should be used as a catalyst to accelerate actions to implement the Framework for Action, which provides an agreed set of policy options and strategies for Member States to consider implementing in line with national circumstances and priorities.

To achieve this, better coordinated actions across all relevant sectors will be fundamental. A successful Decade of Action will therefore support coherent and strategic alignment of issues within the Framework of Action to bring to life the multi-dimensional nature of nutrition action. It will be important to break down some of the sector silos that have been hindering accelerated action on nutrition. It is also important to help actors identify roles and responsibilities, but also to show where collective action across sectors can drive nutrition outcomes and how the various inputs across food and health systems can come together to deliver results.

The Decade of Action is also an opportunity to encourage and develop international partnerships on nutrition.  We acknowledge the important role that the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization will play in leading this work.

Member States should also initiate opportunities to exchange information and share technical resources. Private-public partnerships, as well as collaborations between governments and NGOs, should also be explored.  It should be recognised that malnutrition has many underlying causes requiring coordinated action supported by strong leadership at all levels. Mechanisms such as the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement may assist in this regard.

The Framework for Action focuses on the need to build on existing commitments, goals and targets. By focusing on how to accelerate existing commitments and strengthening existing mechanisms, creation of parallel or duplicate structures can be avoided. For the purpose of accountability, we note the Framework for Action adopts the existing global targets for improving maternal, infant and young child nutrition and for noncommunicable disease risk factor reduction to be achieved by 2025. Consideration could also be given to developing an additional set of indicators – including progress indicators – by which development practitioners in all nutrition-sensitive sectors can measure their impact on nutrition and know whether their efforts are likely to lead to future positive impacts on nutrition.

The Decade of Action presents an opportunity to summon resources to drive research and targeted, evidence-based interventions to address the double burden of malnutrition and obesity and its related chronic conditions, particularly in developing countries. Availability of robust data on nutrition is essential for surveillance, policy making, program targeting and accountability.  The Decade of Action should consider how to build the capacity of countries to undertake data collection and analysis. Additionally, where appropriate, the agriculture and health sectors should be encouraged to cooperate in the development of data collection techniques. The cooperation between these two sectors could lead to data that can inform nutrition-sensitive agriculture policies and inform the development of food security policies.  

The following list provides some examples of additional aspects that would be important to consider in the Decade of Action:

• 
  Promotion of nutrition outcomes through nutrition-sensitive approaches in key sectors (such as agriculture, social protection, financial inclusion, WASH and education) should be a key strategy for achievement of nutrition objectives.
  
• 
  A focus on the first 1,000 days is necessary to make an impact on child stunting in particular.  This demands special efforts to boost the nutrition of vulnerable women of reproductive age, along with promotion of maternal, newborn and infant care practices such as pre-natal health checks, breastfeeding and diet diversity.
  
• 
  Building resilience to malnutrition – closing the gap between development and humanitarian support – will be an important contribution to the achievement of nutrition outcomes.  Nutrition-sensitive sectors have a large role to play in this.
  
• 
  Promotion of the role of trade in improving food supply, which has an impact on nutrition. Research by FAO and OECD has shown that open, efficient and reliable international agricultural and food markets help manage risks and allow food to move to where it is needed, particularly in times of crisis.
  

We look forward to working with the WHO to implement the Decade of Action on Nutrition and to realise achievement of global nutrition-related objectives.

94.Mohamed Moloud, El Shaab Newspaper, Mauritania (fourth contribution)

Original contribution in Arabic

أقترح تشكيل مجلس شبيه بهذا المنتدى الإفتراضي , يتبع للفاو والمنظمات المعنية بالتغذية , ويشرف على مجالس في كل بلد لمتابعة مشاريع يقوم بها الشباب ويشرف عليها , ويبحث لها عن التمويل والخبرات اللازمة , والوسائل , ويكون المجلس الوطني في كل بلد من المتطوعين , يشرف على مجالس في المناطق الداخلية , وأقترح على سبيل المثال مواضيع لمجالات يمكن للشباب الإشتغال بها لتحقيق مردود مالي معتبر , يتيح فرصة للقضاء على الفقر , وكذلك يزيد من إنتاجية البلدان في مجال الغذاء :

1- زراعة النخيل : عن طريق الأنسجة , في المناطق المختلفة لإنتاج التمور , وخاصة في المناطق الصحراوية وشبه الصحراوية , مع امكانية توسيع رقعة زراعة النخيل بهذه التقنية في مناطق واسعة من العالم. تسمح هذه الطريقة بانتقاء أفضل الأنواع , والفسائل تكون مقاومة للأمراض , وسريعة الإنتاج ...

2- مشاريع إنتاج الغاز الحيوي من النفايات العضوية , ومخلفات الحيوانات :  تسمح هذه العملية بتشغيل الشباب فيؤ مشاريع مربحة تنتج طاقة متجددة صديقة للبيئة ,. وتنتج سمادا عضويا من أفضل أنواع السماد يمكن استخدامه لزيادة الإنتاج الزراعي .

3-مشاريع تشجير مناطق واسعة خاصة في المناطق المعرضة للتصحر واختفاء الغطاء النباتي , ويمكن الإستفادة من مشاريع البيئة وغيرها في هذه العملية التي ستوفر فرصا لتشغيل الشباب وزيادة الدخل وبالتالي القدرة على توفير الغذاء وزيادة الإنتاج, يمكن زراعة شجر الباولونيا مثلا سريع النمو , وبيع الأخشاب التي تعبر جيدة من هذه الأشجار .

يوجد العديد من المشاريع ذات صلة بإنتاج الغذاء مباشرة , أوبصفة غير مباشرة , إلا أنها تزيد من الفرص التي يمكن استغلالها للقضاء على الجوع وسوء التغذية , و إنتاج الغذاء .

في بلدي يمكن مثلا أن يدعو رئيس الدولة إلى سنة للقضاء على الجوع تسخر فيها إمكانيات ويتطوع البعض لزيادة إنتاج الغذاء , والموارد كثيرة ومتوفرة لتحقيق ذلك , ويمكن الحصول على التمويل لمثل هذه المشاريع من خلال تخصيص كل قطاع في الدولة لمنطقة معينة يتطوع المسؤولون في هذا القطاع للمساعدة , وكذلك تخصيص نسبة 5% مثلا من الموارد , أعتقد أنها كافية لتحقيق إنجاز , نذكر أن أحد الوزراء قبل فترة أرجع عشرات الملايين من الميزانية لأنه لم يجد ما تنفق فيها , فإذا تبرعت كل وزارة بمبلغ مماثل سنوفر أكثر من المطلوب لتمويل ما ذكر , هذا إضافة إلى المواطنين والمؤسسات الخاصة الذين يتبرعون عادة بعد كل إعلان مهم من السلطات العليا وهو ما قصدته , بتدخل رئيس الدولة , وربما حتى وزير الزراعة أو شخصية ساميىة تطلق نداء للتطوع من أجل إحداث فرق هذه السنة بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للأغذية .

English translation

I suggest that a council or a board similar to this virtual forum be formed. This board shall be affiliated to the FAO and to the organizations concerned with nutrition and shall supervise boards in every country in order to follow up and monitor projects undertaken by the youth. The national board, which is comprised of volunteers from each country, shall also look for the funding and expertise required for these projects. I suggest that youth should be engaged in some topics where they can achieve a good financial return that helps in eradicating poverty and increase the country's productivity in the field of food. These topics are:

1. 
   Planting palm trees: through tissues in the different areas of dates production specially in  the desert and semi-desert areas. This is in addition to the possibility of expanding the area of planting palm trees using this method in larger areas in the world. This method allows for the selection of the best types and the seedlings can fight diseases and have a higher rate of production.
   
2. 
   A bio-gas production project from organic waste and animal residues. This process allows the employment of youth in profitable projects that produce eco-friendly renewable energy. It also produces organic fertilizers from the best types of fertilizer that can be used to increase agricultural production.
   
3. 
    Afforestation projects for large areas, especially the ones that are prone to desertification and disappearance of vegetation cover. We can also take advantage of the environmental     projects which will provide employment opportunities for youth and increase income and consequently this will increase the  ability to provide food and increase production   The  fast growing paulownia trees can be planted   and  the timber of these trees can be sold.
   

There are many projects that are directly or indirectly related to food production, but they increase the opportunities of eradication of hunger  and malnutrition as well as  increase food production.

In my country, the President may call for a year of eradication of hunger where all the potentials will be deployed and some people will volunteer to increase food production. There are plenty of resources that are available to realize this goal. Funding for this project could be attained through allocating a certain area for each sector in the country where  the officials  of this sector volunteer to help and allocate, for example, 5% from the resources. I guess this will be enough to realize the goals. I remember that one of the ministers has returned a sum of tens of millions from the budget as he did not find the channels to spend this money on. If each ministry donates a similar amount we will be able to provide funding for the above mentioned tasks. This is in addition to the citizens and private institutions that give donations directly after each important announcement from the supreme authorities. This is what  I meant by the intervention of the Minister of Agriculture or a  

dignified official  who will call for volunteers in order to make a difference in this year on the occasion of the World Food Day.